Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO94/1~13 ~ 5 4 7 ~ ~ PCT~S93111276
THIN METAL FOIL JEWELRY
BACKGROUND OF THE lNV~Nl'lON
,.
This invention relates to foil jewelry and a method of
making foil jewelry and in particular to foil jewelry made
from thin metal foil. The method permits thin metal foil
which is normally too flexible to be used for jewelry to be
shaped into unique designs, which designs impart rigidity
and strength to the foil.
The jewelry industry is highly competitive and lower
cost attractive jewelry is sought by the consumer. The
price of jewelry made of precious metals is highly dependent
on the metal weight of the final product. This has lead to
the need to develop jewelry with less metal weight which has
the look, strength and feel of jewelry with more weight.
One example of lowering the metal weight of jewelry is
to form hollow rope chain rather than solid rope chain. The
hollow rope chain has up to 60 percent less metal than its
solid counterpart, but with the look, feel and hardness of a
solid rope chain. As the price of precious metals increases
the need for attractive jewelry with less precious metal
requirement is needed.
This has prompted jewelry manufacturers to seek methods
of creating jewelry that looks aesthetically similar to
heavier products with similar strength characteristics.
Therefore, by way of example in the gold jewelry industry
reducing weight of gold is an important cost reduction goal.
.
W094/1~13 PCT~S93111276
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The problem has been that as the gold material is reduced in
thickness to reduce its weight, the flexibility of the gold
increases and the final product looses its rigidity.
What is needed is a thin precious metal piece of
jewelry which has the look and feel of its heavier
counterpart and a method of making the jewelry which assures
a consistently rigid and strong product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention
to provide an improved jewelry item made from thin metal
foil.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a
rigid, stable piece of jewelry from a thin planar foil.
A further object of the present invention is to provide
a method of imparting shapes to a thin planar foil, which
shaping strengthens the foil.
A still further object of the present invention is to
provide a method of shaping a thin planar foil which
includes f;n;~h;ng the edges of the foil to aesthetically
affect appearance and add rigidity to the item.
Briefly, in accordance with the present invention a
thin precious metal foil such as gold of an arbitrary
peripheral shape is taken and is crimped randomly. The
crimping is typically accomplished using a tool such as
pliers or other tool which can be used for crimping. By way
of example, here is shown a plier which has a lower jaw with
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a semicircular trough and an upper jaw with a round tapered
core which fits within the trough. The foil is placed
between the jaws of the plier and the plier is squeezed to
form generally semicircular crimps in the foil. This
initial crimping is arbitrarily done to the foil with crimps
overlapping to form unique shapes with peaks and valleys.
The crimps increase the rigidity of the foil.
The foil is next bent arcuately by gripping the foil
with a plier and both crimping and twisting the plier. The
arcuate bending adds strength to the initially crimped foil
and increases its rigidity. The arcuate bending increases
the peaks and valleys and adds new random shapes which are
aesthetic.
The shaped foil may be used at this stage as jewelry,
for example, a pin, an earing or a part of a bracelet.
Alternatively, the shaped foil may be further pro~Cce~.
In one embodiment the edges of the foil are melted to
form a bead to add further rigidity to the foil and a
different aesthetic appearance. In another embodiment, the
edges are bent to form a skirt which can receive a backing.
In a further embodiment, holes are burnt into the foil to
create a beaded hole which adds rigidity to the foil and
changes its appearance. In yet a further embodiment the
surface is sandblasted and then the piece is polished
thereby giving a shiny finish to the peaks and a matte
finish to the valleys.
The aforementioned objects, features and advantages of
the invention will, in part, be pointed out with
W094/~13 21~ ~ 0 2 PCT~S93/11276
particularity and will, in part, become obvious from the
following more detailed description of the invention taken,
in part, with the drawings which form an integral part
thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the drawings:
Fig. 1 is a top view looking down at a piece of metal
foil with an arbitrary peripheral shape;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the foil shown in
Fig. l, taken along line 2-2;
Figs. 3a. 3b and 3c show a tool for fashioning the foil
shown in Fig. 1 into a piece of jewelry;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of another tool for
fashioning jewelry;
Fig. 5 is a top view of the foil shown in Fig. 1 after
having been randomly crimped;
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the foil shown in
Fig. 5 taken along line 6-6;
Fig. 7 is an end view of the jaws of the crimping tool
shown in Fig. 3 engaging a piece of foil;
Fig. 8 is a top view of a completed jewelry design made
in accordance with the process of the present invention;
Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the item of jewelry
shown in Fig. 8, taken along line 9-9;
Fig. 10 is a piece of jewelry with a skirt formed to
facilitate attachment to a backing;
WO94/1~13 ` PCT~S93/11276
Fig. ll is a piece of jewelry made in accordance with
the invention and having a flat surface for receiving a
stone;
Fig. 12 is another design made in accordance with the
present invention; and
Fig. 13 is a bracelet made in accordance with the
present invention.
In the various figures of the drawings like reference
characters designate like parts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, in Fig. l there is shown
a thin metal foil generally designated as l0 having an
arbitrary peripheral shape 12. The foil is made of a metal
such as a precious metal which can be gold or the like, for
the purposes of the description of the invention. As shown
in cross-section in Fig. 2, the foil lO is thin. The foil
is in the range of .003 to .025 inches in thickness and when
the foil is gold .004 inches has been found to be a suitable
thickness. A suitable thickness is one which can be easily
shaped into a unique jewelry design with adequate rigidity
and strength to withstand damage in ordinary use.
Referring to Figs. 3a, 3b and 3c, one example of a
crimping tool generally designated 14 is shown. The tool 14
is by way of illustration shown to be a plier with crimping
jaws 16 and 18. Jaw 16 is a round core which is tapered and
becomes progressively larger in circumference beginning at
WO94/1~13 PCT~S93/11276
2154702 6
the right end 20 as one moves to the left toward handles 22
and 24. Jaw 18 has a semicircular trough 26 the bottom of
which is shown dotted. Trough 26 becomes progressively
larger in diameter beginning at the right end 28 as one
moves to the left toward the handles 22 and 24 so that the
tapered core 16 fits within the trough 26. As shown in Fig.
7, the right ends 20 and 28 of the tapered core 16 and the
trough 28, respectively, nest within one another.
In practice, foil lO is gripped by crimping jaws 16 and
18. Closing of the jaws by squeezing handles 22 and 24 of
the plier 14 together causes a semicircular crimp in the
foil as shown in Fig. 7. These initial crimps are randomly
formed by merely closing the plier multiple times on the
foil in different places. By forming multiple crimps which
overlap, the crimps lose their semicircular shape and take
on random curves with peaks and valleys.
Referring to Fig. 4, an alternate pair of crimping jaws
30 and 32 are shown. The jaws are flat and are similar to
those on needle nose pliers. Round jaws may also be used,
but will impart a different aesthetic look to the foil. The
initial crimps can also be made by jaws 30 and 32 by using
an up and down rocking motion in the direction of arrows 33
to deform the foil and begin to render it non-planar. The
invention will be described using the plier 14, with the
pair of jaws shown in Figs. 3 and 4, but other devices
including fully automated crimping device can be used.
Referring to Fig. 5, foil 34 has been initially crimped
as described and has multiple peaks 36 and valleys 38. Foil
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34 shown in cross-section in Fig. 6, is still substantially
planar. The initial crimps begin to add rigidity and
stability to the foil 34. In addition, the peaks and
,a
valleys are randomly dispersed and interim peaks and valleys
are formed between other peaks and valleys, resulting in
unique designs.
In order to complete the design and to further add
rigidity to the foil, the jaws 20 and 28, or 30 and 32, are
again randomly placed over existing crimps and closed.
However, this time, with the jaws closed as shown in Fig. 7,
the plier is twisted in the directions of the arrows 40.
The twisting creates new crimps and bends in the foil which
randomly intersect with the previously formed peaks and
valleys and in addition causes the foil 34 to assume an
arcuate shape rather than the substantially planar shape.
Referring to Fig. 8, foil 34 which has been processed
by both the initial crimping step of Fig. 5 as well as the
crimping and twisting step, now has peaks 42 and valleys 44
with fairly sharp high points and low points so that the
peaks and valleys resemble creases in the foil. The walls
coming off the peaks are often steep. These more pronounced
peaks and valleys render the foil 34 much more rigid and
stable. As viewed in cross-section in Fig. 9, foil 34 is
now arcuate with the high point 46 in the vicinity of the
mid-point. The arcuate shape also adds to the rigidity of
the foil and renders it quite resistant to deformation and
damage. Also, the arcuate shape is quite pleasing to the
eye. The shaped foil 34 as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 may be
WO9411~13 8 ~ ~ ~ 7~ ~ PCT~Sg3/11276
used as jewelry at this point. Shaped foil 34 with
appropriate attachments could be an earing, a pin or part of
a necklace.
The foil 34 can be further finished by heating the
periphery to melt the outer edge so that a smooth bead 48 is
formed. The bead 48 is thicker than the foil and imparts
further rigidity and strength to the foil as well as a
different look. The melting of the edge also provides for
an irregular perimeter which also provides for a more
aesthetic appearance.
Alternatively, as shown in Fig. lO, the foil 34 can
have the edge bent downward to form a skirt 50. The skirt
50 can be used to attach the foil 34 to a backing 52 for
additional support. The backing should preferably be of a
thicker material. As shown in Fig. ll, a foil 54 can be
finished with an unbent flat area 56. The flat area 56 can
then be used to mount a stone such as a hemispherical pearl
(not shown). To secure the stone all that need be done is
to bend the edge 58 of the foil 54 to retain the stone.
This provides secure retention without the need of forming a
pronged seat.
Another technique for adding beauty to the article of
jewelry is shown in Fig. 12. The foil 60 has a beaded
periphery 62 as before. In addition holes 64 and 66 are
burned into the foil. The edges 68 and 70 of the holes also
become beaded and irregular in the process and add rigidity
to the foil and a different look. In addition an accent
W094/12313 ~1 S 4 ~ 0 2 - PCT~S93/11276
piece 72 such as a silver strip yellow gold, white gold or
the like, can be adhered to the foil.
A bracelet 74 consisting of finished foil pieces 76
through 86 is shown in Fig. 13. The pieces are drilled to
have small holes (not shown) through which connecting rings
88 are inserted to link the foil pieces. Foil pieces 76 and
86 are fitted with a clasp (not shown) for holding the
bracelet on a wrist.
There are many alternative f; n; ~h;ng steps which could
be taken. Examples of such steps are sand blasting the
entire piece and then polishing the peaks. This gives a
shiny nugget finish to the peaks and a matte finish to the
valleys.
There has been described a preferred embodiment of the
invention. However, it should be understood that various
changes and modifications may be made thereto without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
